DANCING HIKERS

This video clip was taken in the Kurdish city of Irbil on July 29, 2009, two days before Shane, Sarah and Josh were detained. It shows the three friends dancing and fooling around in what looks like an unfinished cinder block dwelling. This clip was filmed by the fourth hiker Shon Meckfessel. Shon had stayed behind at their hotel in the town of Suleimaniya with a cold when Shane, Sarah and Josh hiked to the Ahmed Awa waterfall, close to the border with Iran. He was on his way to meet up with them the next day when he got a cell-phone call from Shane saying they were being taken into custody. If ever there was even the slightest doubt that we were in Iraqi Kurdistan to relax and have fun, this should surely remove it. I hope the Iranian authorities see these clips, realize my friends are harmless young people who may have made a simple mistake and let them come home, Shon said. For more information about the hikers and their plight, please visit http://freethehikers.org. Thank you!